On The Yellow Brick Road
by Mr. Crash
Summary: It was true, the Wicked Witch of the West could not attend to Dorothy as she'd like, so she bides her time...
1. The Scarecrow

On The Yellow Brick Road

By Mr. Crash

***

Chapter One: The Scarecrow

***

"Ha! There goes some of me again!" cried the Scarecrow in a loud, cheerful voice.

"Does it hurt you?" the girl asked in a frightened voice.

"Oh no, I just keep picking it up and putting it back in again!" He gave a happy laugh, grabbed the straw, and shoved it into his chest.

What simpletons. What children. What fools.

That girl…Dorothy, was her name? Now she was seeking help from a Scarecrow? A _Scarecrow?_ Well, all the worse for her.

I floated high on the wind, looking down on them. I could not touch Dorothy while she was still in Munchkinland; Glina's kiss protected the girl with powerful magic. Were my sister still alive, I would've been able to handle the girl and that Scarecrow so quickly…but my sister was dead, crushed beneath that house, with not even the good sense to leave me her slippers. Worthless.

"Well, what would you do if you had some brains?"

"Why I could….

_I could while away the hours_

_Conferrin' with the flowers_

_Consultin' with the rain"_

The strawman began to sing. I couldn't help but laugh. What was this, a fairy tale? Did she think that...Well, honestly, what did it matter what she thought? I would have those slippers. I would.

If she would just give them up! I didn't care one whit what that girl did on her own; if she would just give me those ruby slippers! Just give them back to me, and I'd let her go free!

"_Gosh it would be awful pleasin'_

_To reason out the reason_                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       __

_Of things I can't explain"_

The Scarecrow continued to sing. Good voice, nice tune; quite catchy.

I tried to do as he wished; I tried to reason out why all this was happening. Who was this girl? She says she's from Kansas. Well, I never heard of that place. Why is she here? So far, all she'd done is make my life miserable; I'd been so close to having those slippers! What was her purpose? She had none, as far as I could see. She just wanted to get out of here.

But everything has a purpose. She must be here for _some_ reason...But what? I'd have to find out.

Now suppose what she said was true? What if she did just want to get out of here?

Well, I'd let her go, happily, if only she would give me those slippers! Once I had those, my power would be the greatest in Oz! I would rule not only the West, but the Munchkins in the East, the Quadlings to the South, and the Emerald City in the center of it all.

Ah, the Emerald City…with the GREAT AND TERRIBLE WIZARD presiding over it all. The untouchable Wizard of Oz...

Mayhap he was behind all this? Was this girl just some agent of the Wicked Wizard of Oz? Had he sent her out with a mission? Kill my sister, take the ruby slippers, and then kill me?

Let her try!

_"I could dance and be merry_

_Life would be a ding-a-derry_

_If I only had a brain!"_

"Wonderful!" cried the girl. "Why, if our scarecrow back in Kansas could do that, the crows would be scared to pieces!"

But something tells me that this  little girl is not employed by the Wizard. She was so sweet, so beautiful, so earnest...If the Wizard was in control of her, she would not be so pure. He was nothing but wickedness.

But this girl would not surrender the slippers! I could tell…I could see it. Glinda had instructed her to hold onto the shoes. 'Keep tight inside them' indeed! And the girl must also know that the shoes are all that keep me from simply killing her. No, the girl from Kansas would never give up my ruby slippers.

So what to do?

Well, the girl was on her way to the Emerald City. I would have to stop that! The Wizard would no doubt snatch up those slippers the moment she reached the Gates of Emerald City. And if her gained those ruby slippers..._my_ ruby slippers...I would rather see those shoes destroyed than to have them fall into the hands of the Wicked Wizard of Oz!

But how would I stop her? I could not harm her - not with Glinda watching over the girl. I would have to go about this very carefully. Indirectly, I would have to find a way to stop the girl from getting to the Emerald City.

_"We're off to see the Wizard_

_The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_

_We hear he is a whiz of a Wiz_

_If ever a Wiz there was!_

_If ever, oh ever, a Wiz there was_

_The Wizard of Oz is one because_

_Because because because because because!_

_Because of the wonderful things he does!_

_We're off to see the Wizard,_

_The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!"_

What a joke. What a farce. The _wonderful_ Wizard of Oz? Not hardly! I'd seen what he'd done, how he interfered with everything, how he tried to control all of Oz. He was just plain wickedness.

So what to do?

Well, for now, I would simply wait until I could find a way to stop the Scarecrow and Dorothy.

I flew off, heading back to my castle.


	2. The Tin Woodman

On The Yellow Brick Road

By Mr. Crash

***

Chapter Two: The Tin Woodman

***

"Oh, look! Apples!"

This is my chance. I'd enchanted the trees; if those two tried to pick an apple, they'd be thrashed and beaten until unconscious. Once they are knocked out, I'll step in and take the ruby slippers. And that'll be that!

"Ouch!"

Come on, what were the trees waiting for? Why didn't they hit her?

"Come along, Dorothy! You don't want any of _those_ apples!" Yes, that's it, anger them. You stupid, brainless Scarecrow, get them enraged! That'll do it!

"Are you hinting as to what my apples ought to be?"

"Oh, no. It's just that she doesn't like little green worms!"

"Why you...!" The trees are doing it! They're attacking!

No! The two have danced out of reach! Now my trees..._they're giving the girl and the Scarecrow apples!_ How stupid can those trees be, throwing apples like that!

Curses, curses! Those two trees were completely useless!

I'm just about to leave, when I notice the Tin Woodsman. I've seen him before. 

The girl is about to pick up an apple when she notices him.

"A man! A man made out of tin!" The Scarecrow hurries over.

  
Great! Another companion for this wonderful group!

"The tinsmith forgot to give me a heart."

"No heart??"

"No heart. All hollow." He thumps on his chest, and stumbles slightly.

"_When a man's an empty kettle_

_He should be on his mettle_

_And yet I'm torn apart"_

He, too, explains his woes through song. How cute. How adorable. How absolutely disgusting.

So now this fine young lady has two friends to help her find her way through Oz! The Scarecrow doesn't worry me; he's too stupid to be of much use to her. But I don't like the thought of the Tin Woodman joining up with her. He's tough, smart, and dangerous with that axe; he could easily guide and protect her on the way to Emerald City.

Time to make my appearance. I hide on the roof of a nearby cottage, waiting for the opportune moment to make my enterance.

"Well, suppose the Wizard wouldn't give me one when we got there?"

"Oh, but her will. He _must_!" Her voice is so impassioned... How does a girl her age say something with such sincerity? "We've come such a long way already."

"Ahahahahahahahaha!" The three companions whirl around at look at the top of the cottage. There they see me, in all my wickedness.

"You call that long?!" I cry. "Why, you've only just begun!" While I say this, I stare at the girl. I'm talking to her, and her alone.

I shift my gaze to the Scarecrow. "Helping the little lady along, are we, my fine gentlemen?" I point at the Scarecrow. "Well, stay away from her! Or I'll stuff a mattress with you!" I laugh. I look to the Woodman. "And you! I'll use you for a beehive."

The Woodman and Scarecrow are trembling with fear, but the girl is not. She just stands there, a look of shock on her face. Time to really strike fear into her! "Here, Scarecrow! Wanna play _ball?" _I conjur up a ball of fire, and hurl it at the straw man.

He leaps back in terror. "Ah! Fire! FIRE!"

The Tin Woodsman falls to his knees, removes his tin hat, and stamps out the fire with it.

"Ahahahahahahaha!" I can't help but laugh at how weak and terrified they all are. I vanish in a puff of smoke.

***

After I put out the fire, I heard a terrible laugh, and then saw the Wicked Witch of the West vanish in a plume of orange smoke.

We stand next to one another. The Scarecrow turns to Dorothy. "I'll see you reach the Wizard now, whether I get a brain or not!" he says angrily. He looks at where the Witch just stood. "Stuff a mattress with me, peh!" He thumbs his nose at the roof of the cottage.

I turn to Dorothy. Scarecrow is right! "I'll see you reach the Wizard now, whether I get a heart or not!" I glare angrily at the roof. "Beehive, bah! Let her try and make a beehive outta me!" I snap my fingers, but they only clank.

A happy smile comes over Dorothy's face. "Oh, you two are the best friends anybody ever had," she says. If I had a heart, I'd be overcome with affection. Seeing that happy smile and hearing that friendly tone, I swear to myself, right then and there, that I won't leave Dorothy's side as long as that Witch is out there!

Her look suddenly becomes speculative. "And it's funny," she continues, "but I feel as if I've known you all the time." She looks at the Scarecrow, then at me. "But I couldn't have, could I?"

The Scarecrow frowns. "I don't see how," he says. "You weren't around when I was stuffed and sewn together, were you?"

She looks at me. I was surprised by her comment. We'd just met, hadn't we? "And I was standing over there, rusting, for the longest time," I add, pointing.

She frowns, but then smiles. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter anyway. We know each other now, don't we?"

"Yes," says the Scarecrow.

"We do," I say. And how glad I am that we do!

"To Oz?" the Scarecrow asks, holding out his arm for Dorothy.

"To Oz!" I say, holding out mine.

She links arms with both of us.

_"We're off to see the Wizard_

_The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_

_We hear he is a whiz of a Wiz_

_If ever a Wiz there was!_

_If ever, oh ever, a Wiz there was_

_The Wizard of Oz is one because_

_Because because because because because!_

_Because of the wonderful things he does!_

_We're off to see the Wizard,_

_The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!"_


End file.
